


Orion

by houseofaffuso



Category: Metallica
Genre: 1987, Angst, M/M, i guess, i love cliff/kirk, post the bus accident, sorry - Freeform
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-03-04
Updated: 2020-03-04
Packaged: 2021-02-28 17:08:45
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,439
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23010745
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/houseofaffuso/pseuds/houseofaffuso
Summary: Kirk met him for the last time.
Relationships: Cliff Burton/Kirk Hammett
Comments: 6
Kudos: 31





	Orion

**Author's Note:**

> Hello! The first Metallica fic I've ever written! Actually I posted this before in RF but I decided to post it here as well. Also, thank you so much to Ellefstaine4Life [ who had willingly edited and corrected grammars in this. Much luv <3333](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Ellefstaine4Life/pseuds/Ellefstaine4Life)

Kirk startled up.

Where was he now? The ground felt soft and wet underneath his toes; it tickled him.

He found himself in the middle of a grassy field. The sky was cloudy, yet a hint of sun shined through every here and there. It wasn't a cold place. The only thing one that made him shiver though, was the wet grass between his toes. But Kirk ignored it. The only thing that mattered to him was _why the hell_ he was there.

Kirk stood up. He was feeling a bit dizzy but managed to steady himself before he fell to the ground. His sight became clearer and he saw in front of him, a land. A vast land. He could see mountains from the place he stood in. 

_'Why am I here?',_ Kirk questioned himself over and over. He didn’t remember traveling somewhere but, strangely, this place was sort of familiar to him.

His eyes darted to his left side and he was presented with beautiful, grass-covered hills. They were not too far from where Kirk was standing. He thought that, maybe, he could go for a walk there…

He walked and walked until he reached the foot of the hill. But there was nothing. He looked around until, eventually, he spotted something. No, _someone_.

Cowboy hat, denim jacket, bell bottoms. Cliff, standing on top of the hill, in all his pride. Kirk gasped, feeling as if his heart had just stopped. It couldn’t be….

_'Why’s Cliff here?_

_Why am I here?_

_Am I dead?_

_Is Cliff alive...?'_

Kirk decided to run. He ran towards Cliff and yelled his name at top of his lungs.

“ _Cliff!!!_ ”

Cliff noticed him and waved his hands at Kirk. The guitarist had not felt this happy, at least not after the accident.

When he finally reached Cliff, panting, the taller man patted him on the shoulder.

“ _Long time no see, Kirk._ ” Cliff said with a grin decorating his face.

It was beautiful. It was fucking beautiful. Kirk hadn't seen that smile again after the accident. Kirk was about to cry, _dammit_ , he would cry.

“ _Cliff._ ”

“ _Yeah, baby, I’m here._ ”

Kirk quickly wrapped his small arms around the older man, hugging him tight. He burried his face in Cliff’s jacket and inhaling his smell. God, that Cliff smell. He could fall asleep with that smell lingering in his room. Cliff put his palms on the shorter man’s back and softly kissed his dark curls. His big hands were treading and kneading Kirk's back firmly.

It reminded Kirk of their alone times when he would snuggle up in Cliff’s embrace. When they were under the blankets, talking and giggling and, eventually, ended up fooling around. 

It reminded Kirk of when they were together. When they still thought that nothing could stop both of them; as if the world only belonged to them. When they believed they would live together. _Forever_.

Now, Kirk hated Cliff. He hated the fact that Cliff left him and the guys. He hated Cliff for leaving them early. Kirk hated Cliff for not giving him a chance to, at least, say _'I love you'_ one last time. But of course, Kirk couldn’t blame Cliff. _God’s faith_ , or so people say.

_“I miss you._ ”

“ _I know, babe. I know._ ”, Cliff sighed.

They remained still for a while until Cliff's legs went heavy and they both laid down on the wet grass. Kirk was still hugging him as they engulfed in the silence. They were content, for the time. But Kirk broke the silence.

“ _Why_?”

“ _Why what?”,_ Cliff asked back.

“ _Why did you do that?_ ”, Kirk responded. Now he was staring deeply into the hazel orbs that were Cliff's eyes. Cliff knew exactly what Kirk was referring to with his question.

“ _Sometimes, things happen unexpectedly._ ”, Cliff reached up and caressed Kirk’s cheek with his long, calloused fingers. “ _And they say, legends die soon._ ”

Kirk smiled a little at that and placed his hand on top of the older man’s one.

“ _What have you been doing up there?_ ”, Kirk asked another question. There was no time to be sad.

Cliff chuckled and laid down, resting his arms under his head., “ _Not much, y’know. Smoking my weed, taking blows, jamming with John Bonham, smoking again…”_

Kirk perked up at that. “ _Holy shit, Bonham’s up there?_ ”

Cliff laughed, “ _Of course, man! And Lennon, and everybody is up there, seriously. And oh, Kirk, I met Scott again. It’s been so fucking long, man…_ ”

Upon hearing that, Kirk’s heart sank a little. Of course, he knew about Cliff’s older brother and he couldn’t forget Cliff’s devastated face when he had the him the story back then. Kirk lifted his hands, held Cliff by the back of his neck, and kissed his lips softly.

Then he broke the kiss for a moment, “ _It’s been so fucking long without you too._ ” 

Cliff closed his eyes and they continued kissing. They moved, they were in synch again. Like they always used to be on stage. Cliff parted his lips slightly, letting Kirk’s tongue slide inside. Kirk had rarely ever been in charge when making love with Cliff so this was the only chance. He moaned a little and the vibrations went straight down to Cliff’s groin. The guitarist then moved on top of the bassist and the soft kiss soon turned into a passionate, hot one. Cliff placed his hands on Kirk’s waist, holding him firmly and rolling his hips up slightly. Kirk groaned and threw back his head, laughing. 

God, he missed this so much. Cliff was grinning as well while they continued to grind their hips. And Kirk moaned again, Cliff’s grunts followed, and they continued in synch.

Once they were done, they laid down on the grass. Limbs were on top of one another, dark curls and auburn waves tangled together; they were sharing kisses again. They were content, for the time being.

It was already dark. They had watched the sunset together in each other’s arms. The sky now had turned pitch black, with a full moon and stars twinkling above their heads. When Cliff let go of Kirk’s embrace, the smaller man whined.

“ _Hey, just wanna see the stars._ ”, Cliff chuckled.

Kirk rolled onto his back as well. He remembered times like this. Back then at their Metallica parties, they would just lay outside with booze and cigs and would star-gaze together. Cliff had taught Kirk about astronomy, and now Kirk was able to connect those small shiny dots into shapes. He recognized the constellations above.

“ _There. Ain’t that Taurus over there?_ ”, Kirk pointed up.

Cliff went silent first, as if he was searching for what Kirk had just pointed at. When he finally made it out, he said, “ _Oh shit, yeah! The bull!_ ” 

Kirk laughed. He looked up from Taurus and pointed to Canis Major. Cliff then rambled about Sirius being the brightest star. And then, Kirk spotted a familiar constellation of three stars. A belt, the belt of a hero. _Orion_.

“ _Cliff._ ”, Kirk half whimpered, “ _It’s you_.”.

Cliff saw it and smiled, “ _Yeah, man. That’s me._ ”

“ _We used to play that over and over. It’s never been the same without you._ ”, Kirk stated.

Cliff chuckled and went silent. He kept staring at the constellation. It was concerning.

“ _Cliff?_ ”

“ _…yeah?_ ”

Kirk sat up straight. He locked eyes with the bassist. Something wasn’t right.

Kirk then quickly took Cliff’s hands and held them tight, “ _Don’t go. Please stay here._ ”

Cliff sighed and closed his eyes, “ _You know I can’t do that, baby._ ”

Kirk’s body shook. No, he didn’t want this to end. ' _Please, just let him stay… One more time, just one more time…'_

The bassist then sat up and covered Kirk’s warm lips with his cold ones.

“ _Kirk, baby, my angel, my love._ ”, he said softly.

The guitarist felt a teardrop roll down his own cheek.

“ _I will be always up there, ‘kay? I’ll always watch you guys. I want you to keep moving on with James, Lars, and Jason._ ”

Kirk choked a sob and nodded eagerly, still holding his hands tightly.

“ _Keep doing what you guys are doing. I’ll always watch you. And I’ll always love you from here, no matter what_.”

And Kirk busted into tears.

“ _I’m the Orion. Your Orion_.”

Kirk startled up.

This time, he wasn't on cold grass though. Instead, he woke up in his own bed, in his own room.

He turned and looked to his left side. But nobody was there. No sound of loud snoring. No waves of auburn strands. No arms draped around his smaller frame. 

_No Cliff_. 

Kirk was alone, as always, crying quietly.


End file.
